Legally Romance (2022)

Not What I Was Expecting, But So Much More.

Public Service Announcement: THERE IS A SCENE AFTER THE CREDITS OF THE FINAL EPISODE. STICK AROUND UNTIL THE VERY END!
Once in a while a drama comes along that grabs you and holds on. I have only experienced this with a handful of C-Dramas, but when they hook me they REALLY don't let go. This show has been added to the very short list of dramas that live in my heart rent-free. It didn't follow the standard "overbearing CEO/overbearing boss" trope despite that being the overall premise of the plot and it kept me emotionally engaged from start to finish.

The acting of the cast impressed me, especially the FL (Song Zu Er) and ML (Z. Tao). I had watched 10 episodes of 'The Brightest Star In The Sky' before I dropped it, partially because I didn't like the acting. Z. Tao has either improved his skills or had better direction in 'Legally Romance' because he seemed much more natural in this role. The supporting cast was also exceptional, especially the FL's brother (Yan An) for being such a new actor. I had previously watched him in 'Love Crossed' and he was so-so in that show. His skills have improved exponentially VERY quickly. The SML (Garvey Jin) had fantastic presence and charisma. His use of facial expressions to convey emotions was seriously remarkable. He also made me fall a little in love with him - both as a fresh-faced university student and a jaded adult.

The cinematography in this show was so gorgeous. It's hard to explain, but sometimes the use of the camera angles and lighting made it seem even more like a fantasy dreamscape. The director is quite young and relatively new, with only 3 dramas under his belt, but this show felt polished and shiny, like a far more experienced director was at the helm. One of my favourite aspects of this show was the brief 4th wall breaks the FL has while she talks directly to the viewers. They're used so well and give a lot of really important information very quickly. It's rare to see a 4th wall break done frequently and done well at the same time.

I'm not much of an OST person, I don't tend to notice songs aside from the mood they create in the scene, but the music in this drama was good enough that I took note of several tracks. One song in particular had me replaying the scene over and over just to listen to the music and going on a mad Shazam/Spotify/YouTube/Google search to find the full length version. Alas, the song eludes me still, much to my frustration.

My only *very minor* dislike in this show is that once in a while it can be confusing when they're discussing some aspects of legalities, contracts, etc. For the most part all the legal jargon was toned down and easy to understand, but in the final 8 episodes I found a few of the discussions about the cases harder to follow. I also found some of the blur between the past, the 'second' past, and the actual current timeline could get a little too ambiguous about what was actually experienced by people that didn't relive the "second" past.

Overall this was an excellent drama with lots of cute scenes between the ML and FL, as well as the secondary couple. There were also a lot of emotional scenes throughout the show that had me shedding a few of my own tears, and even some action-packed moments that made the climax quite intense. Definitely worth the watch!

Lire davantage

Hidden gem

Just finished this after binge watching it... It's been awhile since I enjoyed a show like this. I think the last time was fall in love, where Zhang Jing yi and Cheng Xing xu as the main characters.

From the 1st episode to the last, pulled you in, the pace was great for this drama and there was no dragging nor any weird inconveniences within the show which was great.

The characters had a great chemistry and they were naturally funny and real without even trying and this isn't easy to come by.
For once there were no meddling in-laws and the likes. They were valid in their actions such as liu Shu yin's father which wasn't extreme. The second leads weren't dying to get their non sensical revenge just because they couldn't get the male lead so it was refreshing to watch.

As for the OST , I can't say it was the best I've ever heard like Long Ballard,my little happiness and even go into your heart have amazing OSTS. But Z.Tao's was amazing and some in between. So I'd give it a 7 at least.

The story in itself was great. A balance of both law and romance and everyday life. The father's love for qian Wei was very touching and real. The trauma's that affected the characters are all relatable and understandable without seemingly to be overbearing.

Loved it, but one thing though, z.tao's hair was just funny with the suit but it made sense for his character. Don't judge a book by its cover kinda type of vibe I guess.
If they also added court scenes like maybe going defending would have made it much better and interesting

All in all bingeability is high and the pace great.. I'd recommend it ..

Lire davantage

Nice

It is well done, good acting, keeps the attention fix. Overall is entertaining and enjoyable..............
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Lire davantage

Unexpectedly good

I will start by saying that most of the time I rarely write reviews ( more often than not I leave negative reviews when I am pissed with dramas with a high rating and abnormally stupid plots). I started this without much expectation but after the first 2 episodes was convinced that it would be more interesting than the usual dramas. Thank God there was no dumb FL and she was rather cute, ML was playing his part also very well. This combined with the unique plot ( because the writers did a great job with it) keeps you interested with every episode. Also, the conversations between the leads are cleverly written, not boring, cliche, or stupid repeatedly boring lovely-dovely conversations. Everything looked cute and natural. Great drama overall.

Lire davantage

A well crafted love story always have my heart <3

This is the kind of drama which I want to forget soon so that I can re watch it with the same enjoyment I did the first time.
The story feels similar to Pride and Prejudice. Our FL Qian Wei having prejudices against Lu Xun for always been on top even though technically he did nothing wrong. On the other side we have ML Lu Xun who is totally in love with Qian Wei yet his pride never let it show to her directly. I woo at such kind of romances (this noona's heart likes what it likes, no regrets) and thus if you do too then its a totally recommend watch for you.

I love how QW was sassy, smart, cool and witty. I remember a scene in Ep 4 where after she time travelled, where her ex (whom she had met recently on this timeline) apologized to her for lying and she coolly goes "Its okay. I know you are expert at lying" had me rofl. The blatant sarcasm she used against the 2 guys for making her life worse were hilarious.

Lu Xun being the alpha male was good at everything he did and his longing for QW had me ache for them to be together. Like every romance drama have a mandatory drop where the leads breakup for all sorts of nonsense reasons only to get together, this one was different. Because it had LOGIC. I totally got LX point on why he never wanted to be a mere rebound or for her to love him because he did some nice things for her. He wanted her to see him and love him for for the way he is. Hats off to the story for being able to communicate this in a coherent matter to the audiences. I often find this sort of articulation lacking in other dramas.

The swap from the past timeline to current one made sense. I won't spoil it for new watchers, they never took the "physics" approach getting into alternate realities, parallel worlds, 5th dimension etc etc. The reason was simple and satisfactory for me.

Despite me loving the drama so much, it wasn't flawless. The best friend scenes felt average to me compared to the overall show. The ex scenes with the CEO was totally worthless and I skipped it guilt free. The ending few 3-4 episodes were mere filler and totally makjang -ish. You can quit the show when the leads get together around 27-28 episode (i don't remember the exact episode).

Hope you can enjoy it the way I did..!

Lire davantage

I came looking for a cute heartwarming drama and I got exactly that. Beautifully done!

You know a drama is good when it has all the usual tropes and cliches but you still absolutely love it!
It's a little predictable but you still enjoy watching it unfold. The leads were just so adorably natural that I believed them.
It's a slice of life/coming of age romance that gave me lots of smiles. I especially love the way the happy and the sad were interwoven to produce a heart-warming story.
Were there areas that I could criticise? I'm sure there were but seriously, this is one of the few dramas, I can't remember any points 'cos I was too caught up in the story and acting to care.
And may I just make a special mention of the ML's voice!!! Dunno if it was really him or if he was dubbed but I really REALLY loved the voice (so much so it made me overlook the hair!😜)

Lire davantage

A must watch!

I loved the storyline, TraveltimeDream wow, who hasn't dreamt they were in a different era? I have many times. Dreaming of the future can happen. That's how the Revelations in the Bible were written. I love every bit of this storyline from the first episode to the last episode. There is some action that will make you jump. The visuals were great! Some martial arts but not a lot. The martial art was done by Z. Tao who played Lu Xun and I must say he was good at it. Don't know if he was trained for this drama or if he already knew Taekwondo. AN EXO member, I'm impressed, I can hardly wait for his future dramas. Song Zu Er who played Qian Wei is always good whenever I see her in other dramas. I really enjoyed this storyline so I thank the writers, producers, staff, and the rest of the supporting actors/actresses.

Lire davantage

Swooning for 33 episodes

I just finished this drama & need to share my feelings about this truly wonderful drama.
(small spoilers at the end)

First let me thank:
- the amazing scriptwriter for writing not only the drama but also creating such wonderful and emotionally healthy main leads <3
It was EXTREMELY refreshing to see & experience.
- the two main lead actors who brought them QW & LX to live. It was my first time seeing both of them and they‘ll be engraved as those characters in my brain. I was swooning soo much and their interactions felt sooo natural.
It didn’t feel like acting, it felt like they were really experienced their story.
- the director & supporting cast for creating a lovely set up, wonderful family & friends surrounding the main leads.


The Pros:
- the romance… I don’t think I have ever seen sooo many kisses in a drama! And I don’t mean the starring-into-each-others-eyes-and-then-kiss kisses but rather those that just happens in daily activities. Came home from work? Here‘s a kiss. You look cute today - kiss. Kiss kiss kiss 😘
aww it was wonderful ~
Also other types of daily skinship that would actually happen in real life.
- the ML who always liked FL and his bossy behavior in the first episode was explained so quickly that I fell for him on the spot. How refreshing!! I could write a whole essay on his character alone but without spoiling I just wanna say how much i loved his character & love for FL.
- the bickering couple. You know often „bickering couple“ is just an excuse for toxic relationship in asian dramas and where ML treats FL like trash, but here they’re really just bickering and flirting, while also supporting each other & overcome struggles.

The Cons:
…really there is just one bad thing to say about this drama and that was that the last 3-4 episodes felt a bit off as they suddenly focused on the shady side of law. But in the midst there was also romance, that I ate up like good cake ^^
I would have preferred if they didn’t suddenly make it into a suspense law/crime drama and but the ending itself I loved - so all is well!
It just made me rate it 9.5 instead of 10/10


…anyways I loved it & it‘s probably my favorite contemporary ceo & employee romcom cdrama :))

Lire davantage

Song Zu Er (FL) the only redeeming quality

I don't understand the rave reviews and high scores this drama got. It was very draggy where it feels like you're watching the same scene/plot on repeat. The only redeeming quality and why I watched until the end (with a LOT of skipping) is because of Song Zu Er. She is one of the best young actresses with such a range in genuine acting - adorable, witty, fierce, emotional, heart-wrenching...she nails it every time in every series I've seen her in.

I just could not get into the male lead and his hair. This is the first time I've seen this actor in a series, and he was not good...not terrible, but not good. He had zero chemistry w/ the FL.

I did not root for anyone or any couple in this series other than the FL and her father. All the supporting characters and their storyline were uninteresting.

Lire davantage

Brilliant romantic comedy

This story of a woman going back in time to ‘solve’ her present life, including her contentious relationship with her boss, is so well made and cleverly written. It brings together all of the best romantic tropes of office romance and college drama but delivers them in surprising and delightful ways. It has huge emotional moments mixed with a lot of laughs. Our heroine is smart, kind and determined (sometimes ruthless) whilst our hero is upright, devoted and shrewd. I’m only at episode 14 but I can’t wait to see how they reconcile the changes she’s experiencing once she returns to the present. I’m loving this drama!

Lire davantage